Hyde Park and Regent's Park bombings facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Hyde Park and Regent's Park bombings |
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| Part of the Troubles | |
| Location | Hyde Park and Regent's Park, London, England |
| Coordinates |
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| Date | 20 July 1982 10:43 am – 12:55 pm |
| Target | British military personnel |
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Attack type
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Bombings |
| Deaths | 11 (4 Hyde Park, 7 Regents Park) |
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Non-fatal injuries
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At least 59 injured (28 Hyde Park, 31 Regents Park) |
| Perpetrators | Provisional Irish Republican Army |
The Hyde Park and Regent's Park bombings were carried out on 20 July 1982 in London, England. Members of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) detonated two improvised explosive devices during British military ceremonies in Hyde Park and Regent's Park, both in central London.
The explosions killed eleven military personnel: four soldiers of the Blues and Royals at Hyde Park, and seven bandsmen of the Royal Green Jackets at Regent's Park. Seven of the Blues and Royals' horses were also killed in the attack. One seriously injured horse, Sefton, survived and was subsequently featured on television programmes and was awarded "Horse of the Year".
In 1987, Gilbert "Danny" McNamee was convicted of making the Hyde Park bomb and jailed for 25 years. He served 12 years before being released under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement; his conviction was later quashed. In 2013, IRA member John Downey was charged with four counts of murder in relation to the Hyde Park attack; his trial began in January 2014, but collapsed the following month after a ruling upon a letter sent to him by the Metropolitan Police assuring him that he would not be prosecuted over the attack. On 18 December 2019, the High Court ruled in a civil case that John Downey was an "active participant" in the bombing.
No one has ever been charged in connection with the Regent's Park bombing.
A memorial marks the spot of the Hyde Park bombing; and the troop honours it daily with an eyes-left and salute with drawn swords. A plaque commemorating the victims of the second attack stands in Regent's Park.
The event was alluded to in the 1983 Pink Floyd song "The Gunner's Dream" (from the album The Final Cut), where a dying RAF gunner dreams of a world where "maniacs don't blow holes in bandsmen by remote control".
